Black Mage (Super Smash Flash 2)
Black Mage is a playable newcomer character in Super Smash Flash 2. Released in demo v0.7, Black Mage was the first unannounced or surprise character to appear in SSF2. He mainly uses devastating Magic to combat his opponents, but as an extra, he also uses Blue Magic, as seen in his "Goblin Punch" and "Chocobo Kick" attacks. Black Mage is a starter character since demo v0.8a. Despite his significant buffs, Black Mage was ranked 15th on the v0.8 tier list, although his current position is pending. Black Mage certainly does not lack reliable finishers; all of his smashes KO reliably under 150%, and he has other options, ranging from his Haste, his Ken Combo, and even his dash attack. Black Mage's other attributes aren't necessarily slouchy; he has a good ground and air speed and can strike powerfully in the air. This gives him a very powerful presence on the battlefield, where he can take control efficiently and garner momentum quickly. However, most of his finishers are rather sluggish and smart opponents can escape his combos, so Black Mage players must have good cerebral and technical ability to be able to make reads and overwhelm enemies. Black Mage also has bad reach, despite his large array of attacks with disjointed hitboxes. Black Mage is also brought down by his recovery; while it is very long, it is predictable and easily gimped. Black Mage's light weight and lack of reliable approach options also hinder his effectiveness; all of these attributes make him a dangerous character to use, despite his power, and nail him down to the lower tiers. To unlock him in Demo v0.7, play 10 Battles on Brawl mode, then you beat him in a duel on Chaos Shrine. Attributes Black Mage has been significantly buffed from 0.7 to 0.8a. The physics of 0.8a affected Black Mage positively: Significantly improved hit-stun, allows Black Mage to pull great combos, etc. His smashes are now unique and are significantly stronger: Forward Smash acts like a powerful projectile, Up Smash acts as a devastating and explosive damage racker. and Down Smash as an all-traveling damage racker that racks damage awhile it moves cross the stage. Black Mage's Dash Attack is now more powerful and it grants him Super Armor (though its no longer a reliable combo starter), Haste, if it connects, will no longer leave Black Mage helpless. Warp is significantly faster, forcing opponents to predict. Meteor can now be used in the air and it acts like a Meteor Smash. His down air now features Death if it is hit in a certain hitbox and it acts as a powerful meteor smash. Stop now stops projectiles, allowing easy reflects with Forward Tilt. His throws are stronger. Down Throw now inflicts a poison effect, increasing damage percent by 1% every second. He is a short character and therefore is not an easy target. However, Black Mage has many cons. His smashes take time to be charged, which is difficult to do when fighting against a fast opponent like Sonic, Fox or Captain Falcon. He is one of the slowest characters in the game lacking speed, which is necessary to go away from opponents to charge for a powerful attack. The only move that can be used to attack enemies along with a powerful attack is haste. His warp has been shortened therefore it is no more the longest recovery in the game. Also, warp now immediately teleports Black Mage instead of keeping him invisible for some time. Also, his dash attack makes him still in one place, making him vulnerable to deadly projectiles and attacks. His back aerial has a very short range and since being a lightweight character, he can easily be KO'd. Moveset Ground Attacks *Standard Attack 1: Punches forward with his right hand. 2% *Standard Attack 2: Punches forward with his left hand. Decent knockback. 4% *Down Tilt: Takes out a knife and stabs it forward across the floor. 7% *Down Smash: **Uncharged: Uses Blizzaga on the floor adjacent to him, freezing enemies on hit. 9% **Fully charged: The Blizzaga spell travels along the floor. 3% per hit. *Forward Tilt: Swings his staff forwards. 8% *Forward Smash: **Uncharged: Uses Thundaga on enemies in front of him. Very powerful, though slow start up. 14% **Fully charged: Creates a pillar of thunder that advances across the entire stage. 20% per hit. *Up Tilt: Goblin Punches upwards. 9% *Up Smash: **Uncharged: Uses Firaga as a fire uppercut aka Shoryuken, doing minimally 15% damage. 20% if second hit connects. **Fully charged: Two pillars of flame pop out of the ground on either side of Black Mage and converge on him. When they meet, an explosion occurs. Pillars deal 1% per hit, explosion deals 7%. Typically deals ~16% total. *Dash Attack: Uses Petrify on himself while he falls/trips on the floor. Grants him Super Armor, but he can be grabbed out of it. Good knockback. 12% Aerial Attacks *Neutral Aerial: Spins around in a great fireball. Eight hits, each hit deals 2% for a total of 16%. *Forward Aerial: Chocobo kick. One of his best aerials and can be used to wall-chain. If short hopped close to the ground he will perform a Pseudo Wavedash. 9% *Back Aerial: Stabs with his knife behind him. It is a powerful semi-spike. 9% sweet spot, 6% sour spot. *Up Aerial: Uses Flood magic to attack upwards. Good juggler. 10%. *Down Aerial: Black Mage swipes a scythe downwards in an arc. This move can send opponents in different directions. Anyone who touches the blade at the beginning of the move will be sent downwards. Anyone who touches the blade at the end of the arc will be sent diagonally downwards. Anyone who touches the blade at the very end of the move is sent upwards with good knockback. Different parts of the attack do different damage. All parts of the scythe do 6%. **If the blade hits the opponent at a certain angle(an image of Death will show), a grim reaper will hover above the opponent and attack the opponent after a randomly decided period of time. It gives about 6% damage, and it is a meteor smash. Grabs & Throws *Grab: Black Mage grabs the opponent. *Pummel: Stabs opponent. 1% for each hit. *Forward Throw: Creates a small tornado to lift the opponent up, then hurls them forward. 10% *Back Throw: Levitates the opponent backwards, then stabs the ground with the end of his staff, causing a pillar of earth to jut out of the ground. 8% *Up Throw: Changes his hat into a Cactuar and uses 1000 Needles on the opponent. Each hit gives 1% damage, the last giving 4%. 9% total. *Down Throw: Uses Bio Magic to poison the opponent with his staff. Does no damage, poisons the enemy. Poison deals 1% each half-second, for a total of 21% over 6.5 seconds. Other *Ledge Attack: Hits forward with his staff. 8% *100% Ledge Attack: Leaps high into the air and stabs a giant broadsword into the ground. 8% *Wakeup attack: Swings staff on both sides. 5% Special Moves Misc. *Entrance: Gets chosen from a list of playable characters. *Taunts: **Neutral: Spins and raises a hand into the air while a small melody from the Final Fantasy fanfare plays. **Side: Takes out a rat's tail and pokes it. **Down: Plays the lute from "Final Fantasy I". *Revival platform: Standard SSF2 platform. *Fanfare: Victory fanfare from Final Fantasy IV. *Wins: Jumps on his scepter and makes a win pose while floating along with a green, red, yellow or blue gem. *Loses: Claps to winner. Role in The Flash Of Shadows Currently unknown. Gallery Palette swaps DOJO!! Update Bmmain.gif|Black Mage's first line art in the DOJO!! bmage1.png|Black Mage using his D-throw on Bomberman in Hylian Skies. bmage2.png|Black Mage using his fully-charged Up Smash in Mushroom Kingdom III. bmage3.png|Black Mage chasing Link in Twilight Town. bmage4.png|Black Mage using Stop on Naruto in Bomb Factory. Trivia *Black Mage is the first surprise character in Super Smash Flash 2. *Black Mage is the only character whose fully charged smash attacks are different from his semi-charged smash attacks. *Black Mage is the character who stops for the longest time after a dash attack. *Black Mage is the only character whose throw (down) makes the opponent gain percentage even after been thrown a long time before. External Links *Black Mage's page at Smash Flash DOJO!! *Black Mage's v0.8 dev blog Category:SSF2 Characters Category:Starter Characters Category:Super Smash Flash 2 Category:Final Fantasy universe Category:Unlockable Characters Category:Pages with broken file links